Aracne, materials and methods for sustainable building

The press conference for Aracne, the integrated laboratory for advanced technologies and innovative materials for green building, was held on 10 April in Baggiovara.

In his opening remarks, Acimac’s director Paolo Gambuli expressed his satisfaction with the progress made by the project. “Aracne is an excellent example of intelligent use of public resources and demonstrates the importance of cooperation between players investing in innovative green building projects, vital for the recovery of this key sector of the Italian economy,” he said.

Claudio Pistoni, mayor of Fiorano, discussed the partnership between the Fiorano town council and Aracne. “I see Aracne as a key project for Fiorano and its economy in terms of environmental, economic and social sustainability. We strongly approved of Aracne’s involvement in the functional renovation project for the Fiorano town hall as an application of its key areas of research.”

Marco Bitossi, Chairman of Colorobbia, spoke on behalf of the three companies involved in Aracne, Colorobbia Italia, Smaltiflex and SRS. “The town hall project is an important opportunity that will allow our green building design models to be validated. This will enable us to transform the innovation generated in laboratories into market-ready materials and solutions in keeping with the spirit that has driven the Emilia-Romagna regional government in its targeted industrial policy.”

Representing the regional government, an address was given by Silvano Bertini, Head of the Economic Development Policies Department at the General Directorate of Production Activities, Trade and Tourism. “With the regional funding programme that led to the launch of Aracne, we wanted to support innovation in our manufacturing districts. I am very pleased to see that the project is continuing with conviction. I believe it brings major innovations to the building sector in terms of both green materials and innovative building design methods.”

Aracne is a collaborative laboratory run by three major Emilia-Romagna based companies operating in the field of building industry supplies: Colorobbia Italia, Smaltiflex and SRS. It is backed by ACIMAC (Italian Ceramic Machinery and Equipment Manufacturers’ Association), in cooperation with the INTERMECH, MATMEC and EN&TEC laboratories of the Universities of Modena, Bologna and Reggio Emilia.

The research project is financed by the regional funding programme “Dai distretti produttivi ai distretti tecnologici” (“From production districts to technological districts”), which promotes the development of manufacturing clusters. This contribution has enabled the three companies to pool their resources in a strategic network and pursue a single research programme at an integrated laboratory focusing on materials development (plate glass, resins and metals) and hi-tech application solutions that meet criteria of environmental and economic sustainability.